[C38] Loosening things that don't want to go...

Martha Garber garberml at charter.net
Tue Apr 20 21:43:55 EDT 2010


To Charles Finn,  Please send me your email address and phone #  as I have been corresponding with the people in Toronto about a dodger and they wish to contact you  as I am going to have them build one for me.  Thanks, Larry
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Charles Finn 
  To: listserve at catalina38.org 
  Sent: Monday, April 12, 2010 3:44 PM
  Subject: [C38] Loosening things that don't want to go...


  A couple more suggestions for the "Tool Box." 

  Like most of us on this discussion forum, I have had to remove bolts, 
  blocks, tracks, etc. from the Mighty Quinn that appear to have been 
  installed with the idea that they never would be removed! 
  Here are some things that have worked for me without damaging the boat: 

  1.  Hard plastic head hammer.  Sometimes you "need" to hit something! (I 
  believe there is a direct correlation between the amount of skin I have 
  lost on my knuckles and my need to use a hammer)    These hammers are 
  inexpensive and will drive out troublesome bolts without hurting wood or 
  fiberglass.  A bonus is they are the same hammers used to detect voids 
  in our decks, which is a good trick to learn. 

  2.  Small tapered wedges made of hard oak or even waste teak.   3-4 
  inches long with a taper from 1 inch to a point.   Inserting one or 
  several of these under tracks and tapping on them with your plastic 
  hammer will develop amazing force while not deforming your expensive 
  hardware. 

  When attempting to remove corroded bolts or nuts, we need to keep in 
  mind that the corrosion is a problem because the (usually) oxidized 
  material takes much more space than the original material (stainless is 
  reactive to chlorine of course, but the issue for us is much the same). 
  The first step if at all possible should be to remove as much of the 
  corrosion as possible.  There are many products on the market, but the 
  one I have found most generally effective has been "pb blaster."  I 
  think the trick to any of these solvents is time.....  (I hate this part 
  because I want that bolt out NOW!). 

  Heating bolts and nuts can also work as the repeated heating and then cooling 
  can work loose corrosion and then the relative temperature differentials 
  can give you more room between the parts.  Keep in mind that the size 
  difference is in thousandths of and inch!  And that most of the metals 
  we work with don't really get to maximum until about 300 degrees Celsius.  Machine 
  shops have special crayons that melt at given temperatures, but those 
  inexpensive laser thermometers work well enough.   While most 
  of us automatically think of the "torch" when heating, a less dangerous 
  way around fiberglass and wood is to use a soldering iron.  
  Remember that multiple heating and cooling cycles work far better than one! 

  Cooling is often a better alternative and it works on the same principle 
  of heating.  I prefer liquid nitrogen, but dry ice can work as well.   I 
  bring a stainless thermos bottle to a welding supply shop, which will 
  keep for several hours.  Be very careful with liquid nitrogen!  It burns/hurts 
  just like sticking your hand in the torch flame....   Always wear 
  welding type gloves and eye protection. 
  The bonus here is all the neat things you can do with the remaining 
  coolant! 

  Having fun? 
  Chuck Finn 
  Mighty Quinn #114 
  Great Lakes 


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